The Mayor James H. Ross Collection documents Ross's political career from 1933-1937. James Ross, a businessman and civic leader, served as mayor of Lancaster from 1934-1938. The collection consists primarily of correspondence and a scrapbook. The letters are related to his mayoral election and responsibilities, the James H. Ross Ready to Wear Department Store, and personal matters. The scrapbook, compiled by his wife, contains information about his political career, the department store, and other local merchants, and provides a good background on the housing issues that threatened Lancaster City. The collection gives a fragmented picture of life in Lancaster in the 1930s, including commercial transactions, the Depression, religious charitable organizations, politics, and the Democratic Party.
Admin/Biographical History
James H. Ross was born in Green County, Ohio. When he was six, Ross's family moved to Monroe County, West Virginia where he attended school until he was seventeen. His family moved back to Ohio where he finished his schooling at Bowersville High School. After graduating, Ross moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and began working for M. T. Garvin & Co. Ross left M. T. Garvin & Co. in 1928 and established his own store, James H. Ross Ready to Wear Department Store, in December of that same year. James H. Ross was elected Mayor of Lancaster as a Democrat in 1934.
Please make an appointment with the Research Center staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org to view the scrapbook.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-58
Classification
MG0058
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Scrapbook, Career of James Ross, Former Merchant and Mayor, was previously housed in the Scrapbook Collection, Book 121. Scrapbook, Career of James Ross, Former Merchant and Mayor, was cataloged and preserved with funding from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, ME60112, 2007-2008.
This collection contains the scrapbook of Mathias Zahm (1760-1844). Mathias Zahm kept this scrapbook of journal entries and clippings from Lancaster's German language newspapers from 1800 to 1833.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Zahm Family Collection, 1800-1831 (MG0914), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request at the Reference Desk or contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The Bucher-Ortmann Pharmacy Collection contains memorabilia from the Bucher Pharmacy and Ortmann Pharmacy in Columbia, including an account book and prescription formula books.
Admin/Biographical History
The pharmacy began with the Bucher family in 1895 and continued when Werner Ortmann purchased the business in 1953.
Ladies' Auxiliary of St. Joseph Hospital (Lancaster, Pa.) Records
Description
This collection contains records for the Ladies' Auxiliary and Junior Auxiliary of St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster, PA from 1881-2002. One volume contains the names of volunteers and the hours they logged from 1967-1992. Newsletters, programs, and newspaper articles provide information about the many community activities and fundraising events of the organization.
Admin/Biographical History
St. Joseph Hospital (1883-2000) started in a moderate-sized building on College Avenue that was purchased by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, Philadelphia Foundation. The Ladies' Auxiliary began in 1903 to promote the community's health and welfare, engage in fundraising activities, and promote good relations between the hospital and community. The Junior Auxiliary was made up of volunteers who had limited time available, participated in fundraising activities, and met in the evening at five general meetings per year.
Preferred Citation: Ladies' Auxiliary of St. Joseph Hospital (Lancaster) Records (MG0473), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this collection must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-473
Other Number
MG-473
Classification
MG0473
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by DC, 2009. Added to database 7 September 2021.
This scrapbook was originally the ledger of Charles' brother, Henry L. Frailey, for the Lancaster Home Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Henry may have also used it as journal for personal records and scrapbook.
Charles R. Frailey turned this ledger into a scrapbook in the 1890s with newspaper articles of noteworthy events and stories that related to crime and justice in Lancaster County. More importantly, the edges of the pages of the scrapbook contain notes, quotations and signatures, many of which relate to the various stories he collected.
Frailey's notes in the margins of the scrapbook provide an enormous amount of first-hand opinions and information about Lancaster events that are not captured in newspaper articles or in other official documents. The scrapbook provides a look at crime and crime prevention in the 1890s in Lancaster through the eyes of a former Police Chief. It is an important part of the history of the Lancaster City Bureau of Police.
This scrapbook and ledger also contain sketches of historic houses in Lancaster and a list of surviving members of the Lancaster Fencibles, 1898.
Admin/Biographical History
Charles R. Frailey was born in Lancaster in 1825. He married Sarah A. Baer in 1850, raised a family in Lancaster, and was a member of Friendship Fire Company. He was employed as a clerk and scrivener and taught penmanship. In 1865, Charles was elected city alderman and became the City of Lancaster's first Chief of Police.
In 1865, Mayor George Sanderson established the Lancaster City Police force. A man named Charles Frailey was the first Chief of Police. Officer Frailey oversaw 21-night policemen who successfully restored order. https://www.epsagents.com/security-guards/armed-unarmed-security-guards-lancaster-pa/
Lancaster City Archives Collection (Records of Arrests; Police Dockets; Police Logs)
Notes
A few of the stories contained in the Frailey Scrapbook:
Murder of David Buckwalter Landis: Landis was president of Lancaster's Conestoga National Bank. The murderer, Ralph W. Wireback, was the tenant of a house that was owned by Landis. As part of the lease agreement, Wireback was allowed to occupy the house until Landis sold it. When Landis did sell the house and attempted to dispossess Wireback, Wireback sent his family away from the house and boarded it shut. A final confrontation between the tenant and the landlord on April 7, 1898 resulted in the murder. On August 24th, 1899, Wireback was found guilty of 1st degree murder and sentenced to death. His execution was set for June 7, 1893.
William E. Martin's escape: Although the LCPD began to use patrol wagons in 1892, officers often escorted criminals to the local prison on foot. This proved to be disastrous in the case of William E. Martin. On October 27, 1898, Martin haplessly attempted to sell a team of horses he had stolen to a city constable and was promptly arrested. As he was being taken to jail, Martin managed to overpower Constable Jacobs on East Walnut Street, and, threatening the constable with his (Constable Jacob's) own gun, he bolted.
Burglary at Lime Rock: A burglary was committed on December 9, 1898 in Lime Rock, a settlement at the intersection of the Reading and Columbia Railroads between Manheim and Lititz. The burglars entered the home of Albert Longnecker and demanded that he surrender his valuables to them. Longnecker, despite being rather elderly, attempted to fend off the intruders, but he along with his four other family members were bound. While the burglars rummaged through the house, one of the female family members wrestled free and ran to one of their neighbor's homes. She rang a bell which caused the burglars to flee, taking with them only $3 that they had found in the Longneckers' coat pockets.
In 1899, a bill was passed "to fix, regulate, and establish the fees to be charged and received by constables of this commonwealth." These fees covered such services as levying fines, serving executions, executing search warrants, etc.
In July 1882, George "Tid" Brimmer, who is associated with the infamous Buzzard Gang, allegedly set the Lancaster County Almshouse on fire on the same afternoon that the gang burned the barn of Samuel Ranck. The Almshouse had burned down three times previously, and was later rebuilt and burned down once again in 1900.
An article entitled "Changes of 40 Years: What an Old City Report Showed" from February 20, 1900 details how the LCPD transformed since 1860: "From one High Constable and four Ward Constables and night-watchmen, at an expense of $2,674, we now have a Chief of Police, 2 Sergeants, 18 policemen, and three patrol drivers and a turnkey, costing $19,820, supplemented with police patrol, patrol call boxes, police station house, etc…improvements scarcely dreamed of 40 years ago…"
James Burns, who was convicted of complicity in the Jacobs-Kendig revenue stamp counterfeiting conspiracy, was freed from the Eastern Penitentiary in 1900 after serving a period of one year and six months.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
This scrapbook may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
This scrapbook may be photographed without flash. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The Annexation of Greater Lancaster, Manheim Township, Book 1, 1947-1952
The Annexation of Greater Lancaster, Manheim Township, Book 2, 1947-1952
Description
These scrapbooks address the development of Manheim Township. There is a variety of correspondence discussing the boundary lines between Greater Lancaster and Manheim Township and the impact they would have on the community. The books show the debates between Kendig C. Bare with Simplex Paper Box Corporation and John M. Groff with Armstrong Cork Company. The newspaper clippings give a wider community view of the complex problems in developing new boundary lines, including taxes and education.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request these items by contacting Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to your visit.
Copyright
These items may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-434
Other Number
MG-434, Boxes 24 and 25
Classification
MG0434
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Cataloged by CRB, October 2007. Added to database, 24 September 2023.
Previously housed in the Scrapbook Collection, Books 33 and 34.
This project was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, ME60112, 2007-2008.
More than fifty scripts for the WGAL radio show, "Aunt Min Sez," were saved in this scrapbook. Aunt Min, the homespun character, shared anecdotes about holidays, the weather, church, dieting, learning to ride a bicycle, Atlantic City, a bat in the house, house cleaning, and various other subjects. Her stories combined humor with down-to-earth philosophy about life and provided entertainment for readers and listeners.
Mrs. Marian Root Wisler, of Columbia, Pennsylvania began publishing "Aunt Min Sez" as a newspaper column in November 1938. The fifteen minute radio scripts were written and read by Mrs. Wisler, who was sometimes joined by Mrs. Wilbur Laird portraying "Jen." The show aired Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. on WGAL radio and the scripts were published in The Columbia Broadcaster.
Admin/Biographical History
Marian Root Wisler was married to John Jay Wisler, Sr. who was a 4th cousin of John W. W. Loose. Mrs. Wisler was the publisher of The Columbia Broadcaster from 1931-1934.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request this item by contacting Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to your visit.
Copyright
This item may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-434
Other Number
MG-434, Box 26
Classification
MG0434
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Cataloged by HST March 2008. Added to database 25 September 2023.
This Bride's Book is the scrapbook for the wedding of Doris Jane Hall and Richard Henry Barr, Jr., both of Lancaster. At the front is a copy of the marriage service and certificate. The wedding was officiated by Pastor Allen L. Benner at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lancaster on 28 December 1946. The engagement was announced at the Hamilton Club on 5 August 1946. The volume contains engagement, bridal shower and wedding cards, as well as the wedding invitation. A description is given for each party and shower, including hostess, location, menu, guest list and gifts. Newspaper clippings announce the engagement and wedding. The bride's trousseau and fabric samples and details of the gowns are recorded. The bridal party is listed and the service is detailed. The guest list is a "Who's Who" of Lancaster. The couple honeymooned in Bermuda and kept a journal of their trip. Their family trees are found on the last page. Housed with the scrapbook are Richard's obituary and Doris' burial location.
Barr - Hall Wedding Photograph Album (A-62-01-01 to A-62-01-50)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request this item by contacting Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to your visit.
Copyright
This item may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-434
Other Number
MG-434, Box 100
Classification
MG0434
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Added to database 26 September 2023.
The Bride's Book and photograph album were purchased by the donors in a box lot at an auction in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Catharine B. Spitler Scrapbook, Book 2, 24 December 1971- 15 April 1987
Description
Catharine B. Spitler, a resident of Landisville, Pennsylvania, compiled these scrapbooks. Book one contains information primarily about World War II. The newspaper clippings include information about Lancaster natives, both men and women that were involved in World War II, including ranks and location of service. There are also articles about the United States involvement in World War II. Interesting local articles and programs discuss the World War II Memorial in West Hempfield Township. Columbia's Sesquicentennial was documented through a series of newspaper clippings located in this scrapbook.
Book two is a compilation of newspaper clippings, engagement announcements, wedding announcements and obituaries pertaining to Lancastrians. Locations around Lancaster County that were mentioned are as follows: Lancaster, Hempfield, Ephrata, Maytown and Mount Joy. An interesting subject within the second scrapbook is the1972 Flood of Lancaster (Hurricane Agnes).
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request these items by contacting Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to your visit.
Copyright
These items may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-434
Other Number
MG-434, Boxes 79 and 80
Classification
MG0434
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Cataloged by CRB, October 2007. Added to database, 28 September 2023.
Previously housed in the Scrapbook Collection, Books 128 and 130.
This project was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, ME60112, 2007-2008.
These volumes contain various newspaper clippings, printed materials, and ephemera collected by Edith Raub Helm. The books provide insight into her life including the schools she attended-Shippen School for Girls and Briarcliff Junior College. The scrapbooks focus on the social aspects of women's lives, featuring the theatre, wedding invitations, and engagement, marriage, and birth announcements.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request these items by contacting Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to your visit.
Copyright
These items may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-434
Other Number
MG-434, Boxes 44 and 45
Classification
MG0434
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Cataloged by CRB, October 2007. Added to database, 25 October 2023.
Previously housed in the Scrapbook Collection, Books 10 and 11.
This project was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, ME60112, 2007-2008.
